Winter #7

The only thing Ethan was worried about after successfully taking Emily out of the dungeon, was the pursuit of the man he had harvested. Ethan was sure the man would only be unconscious for a few moments, and Emily's condition made it impossible to run. Even in his position carrying Emily on his back, running in snowy conditions in the dark was impossible.

Emily's entire body was covered in wounds and the blood seemed to never stop flowing. Red patches dripped on the white snow, creating a trail that seemed to tell anyone where the girl had gone. Ethan couldn't let it all go by without any treatment.

"Your wound must be treated first, Emily, you're hurt badly." Ethan lowered Emily from his arms, the leaves from the fallen tree branch made a bed for Emily to lie on.

"Take me to the cave, Ethan. Take care of me there," Emily pleaded with her eyes closed and a weak voice.

However, Emily's request could not be done by Ethan because the distance to the cave was longer than they had imagined. Emily's bleeding had to be stopped before they continued their journey again. Ethan didn't say what was the reason he chose to pull over before continuing the journey, the man took off his coat, then the shirt he was wearing was torn into small sheets to bandage Emily's wound.

Without adding any herbs, Ethan bandaged all the wounds on Emily. The girl winced every time her wounds came into contact with the cloth Ethan wrapped around them. The biting cold slightly numbed her wounds. Emily made it through the most agonizing moments and the blood no longer dripped as much as before.

"Your body is so weak, put on my coat, I don't want you to feel cold." Ethan had put on his remaining shirt, then put a warm coat on Emily's fragile body.

"You need that more than I do, I'm fine with just this wrap," rejected Emily who was starting to feel better.

"We'll probably be traveling until dawn, during which time I'll be sweating and the coat won't be suitable under those circumstances." Ethan reasoned as if he didn't need the coat any more.

Emily smiled bitterly, she was not that stupid to believe that one would sweat on a snowy night in the middle of the forest.

"Your coat is actually too big to wear alone, I was thinking why don't we wear it together? I'm attached to your back, you can still wear the coat and I'll be warm as a baby too."

Emily grabbed the coat Ethan offered, the girl turned Ethan's body to his back, then she pressed her body together and put the coat on the man in front of her. Now both of them were in the embrace of the warm coat and the temperature of their bodies was tightly rubbing against each other, causing another warmth.

Without forgetting his crossbow and flashlight, Ethan continued on his way anxious and tired. Emily fell asleep on his back and Ethan felt at peace in this position of theirs. He felt very close to Emily and her breath. Unbeknownst to him, a man was watching them from behind the trees.

Moments later Ethan felt an unfamiliar scent following him, the man increased his alert level and quickened his pace towards the cave. An hour later Ethan and Emily arrived at the cave. Ethan quickly laid Emily down on the mat where they had slept last night. With hasty steps, the man hurriedly covered the cave's lip with rattan. The night was still dark and cold, Ethan began to light the fireplace and warm his body there. Emily fell asleep looking worried and tired, making Ethan feel an undue sense of guilt.

Ethan approached Emily and rubbed the girl's cheek gently, "you're incredibly strong, Emily," he whispered softly.

Emily felt someone's breath so close to her face, when she opened her eyes, the girl caught a worried look on Ethan's face. In the next second, Emily was already pulling Ethan into her arms, making them roll over on the bed of dry leaves. There was an overwhelming sense of relief when they realized they were in the cave as before.

"You haven't explained anything to me," Ethan whispered to Emily.

"There's nothing to explain, Ethan, you've seen it all yourself." Emily shed her tears again in Ethan's warm embrace.

"I'm sorry I was late to help you, Emily," Ethan whispered feeling guilty and weak.

Emily shook her head softly, looking at Ethan's worried face, the girl stroked the young man's face soulfully. The next second, Emily had pressed her lips on Ethan's lips. The young man returned the kiss briefly and hurriedly Emily pulled away after realizing what she had done just now.

"I'm sorry," the girl whispered, her back now to Ethan to hide the intense awkwardness.

Ethan chuckled blandly, "you're so cute," he retorted.

"We'd better treat your wound first, we need to leave this place as soon as possible. Those guys are sure to keep chasing us and I need to make sure your body is treated before the long journey." Ethan got up from where they lay and began to get busy with his herbal concoction. Emily observed the young man's sincerity with a warm heart, though a part of her felt guilty that Ethan became involved with trouble after meeting her.

Without waiting long, Ethan was ready with his concoction and began to unwrap the cloth on Emily's body.

"I won't hesitate to push you into the fireplace if those eyes of yours act disrespectfully!" threatened Emily as Ethan removed all her clothes.

"You mean I'm supposed to treat your wounds by blindfolding you?" asked Ethan in disbelief.

"I'd like to treat my own wounds if I could, but the lash wound is on my back," argued Emily in the end.

"So be quiet, I'm doing my best for your recovery." Ethan began to smear Emily's back carefully.

"Hold a little, maybe this will hurt," Ethan said.

Emily grimaced, "can't we stay here a little longer? I can't imagine leaving in this condition."

Ethan stopped what he was doing and thought for a moment. He didn't know where they should go after this, but staying in this cave felt like inhabiting a wolf's den, very threatening.

"The villains will come again, Emily. I've already smelled their scent although it's still faint. We should get ready right now. They're roughly within a two-kilometer radius, we still have a little time." Ethan said that after concentrating his mind on detecting the scent.

"Where are we going?" asked Emily in her fragility.

Ethan didn't answer, not knowing where to go himself. Meanwhile, the smell was getting closer and more threatening.